A Trio of Grey
by LadawnTheLiar
Summary: Multi origin. With an elf who has never seen the sun, a carefree apostate, and an aggressive city elf whom he's pretty sure is going to kill him in his sleep one night, Alistair is going to have his work cut out for him.
1. Viveka Surana

**Fixing up the chapter yay...found a few errors. **

**Disclaimer: i dont own dragon age **

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**Viveka Surana**

The floor was cold. She supposed it shouldn't have been much of a surprise considering the fact she was kneeling on stone. The cuffs were already beginning to chafe the skin of her wrists, and she blamed the fact she was incredibly short on that. With her knees completely touching the floor, her arms strained to stretch the length. She wondered how many days it had been since she was first locked up here; there were no windows for her to keep track of the sun's rising and setting.

Though, she really shouldn't be here in the first place. It was self-defense; isn't there an exception for that? It's not like she asked a demon for help! But no, Greagoir immediately saw the blood spill and accused her of being a maleficarum. Technically, yes, she did use blood magic. Yes, blood magic was forbidden. But maybe he should worry more about keeping his stupid Templars in line than the mages summoning demon.

However, she could never say this out loud. Those big Templars with their shiny armor and giant swords dwarfed her in her mage robes and weak staff. Plus, whenever they saw her they always did such horrible things…

Irving had done what he could for her. He saved her from death, but he couldn't save her from imprisonment. She had always known she was one of his favorite students, and she had always been told she was quite the prodigy.

The sound of footsteps filled the hallway. The young elf's head slowly lifted up to look at the incoming visitors, hoping, praying, that it wasn't those Templars again.

It wasn't the Templars; or at least it wasn't _just_ the Templars. They were kind of a package deal when a mage was traveling around the tower. Nonetheless, it was the complete opposite of a group of Templars. Irving and Greagoir had come down to visit her, and beside them was an armored, tanned man with twin blades strapped to his back. The man's dark brown hair was tied back, along with a short beard and mustache decorating his lower face. Eyebrows rising in confusion, she waited for Irving to introduce the stranger.

"And here she is," Irving said, gesturing to her. "I did what I could to prevent her death, and if having her conscripted is what it takes to keep her alive, I will gladly allow it. She is a fine mage; one of the most talented I have seen in ages."

The man's eyes glanced over her weakened frame in curiosity. The elf curled as close to herself as she could to avoid his wandering eyes.

"She seems very weak. Would you allow me to buy her materials and have one of your mages heal her before we leave?"

Irving nodded, "I would have it no other way." The elder mage finally turned his attention to the small girl huddled up in the cell. "My dear, I would like you to meet Duncan. He is a Grey Warden and has agreed to take you into his services. As much as I would prefer for you to stay here, in the tower, you would do much better things as a Warden then you would locked up in this cell."

Greagoir scowled. "She is a blood mage! She should not be permitted to leave this tower. She should not even be allowed to live!"

Duncan shook his head at the Knight Commander. "There is a Blight upon us. We need every able bodied man and woman out there to defeat it."

"Yes, yes, I know," Greagoir complained. "Just don't complain to me when she summons demons and destroys every man at your compound." He pulled out his keys as he spoke and unlocked the cage. The girl started whimpering when the cuffs were removed from her wrists and when a blanket was draped on top of her. She struggled to her feet, refusing the help of the Templar beside her, and shuffled over to Irving, the blanket clutched tight in her grip. The First Enchanter placed a comforting hand on the tiny girl's shoulder and motioned with his other to her.

"Duncan, it is my pleasure to introduce you to Viveka Surana, one of the most skilled ice mages I have seen in my time."


	2. Valerie Tabris

**I know i edited the first chapter, but this one is too long to edit right now. I might go back and edit everything once the story is finished. **

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**Valerie Tabris **

Marriage: it was the unity of two willing people for either love or power.

Valerie was not in love with anyone; she was not gaining anything with this marriage. Hell she didn't even want to get married! But her father had arranged it with Nelaros' parents and "it would be a good future for you Valerie no don't give me that look I'm only doing what's best for you."

The elf sighed, blowing her red hair out of her face. Perhaps she should grow her bangs out so they wouldn't get in her face all the time. Maybe they'd become long enough to get braided into the two braids she usually wore.

But, she couldn't sit on her bed all day unless she wanted Shianni to barge in and –

"Get up you lazy butt!" Speak of the demon and she shall appear.

Valerie sat up and glare at the red head that had burst uninvited into her room. "I am up! Maker, you should knock next time what if I had been changing!"

Shianni rolled her eyes. "It wouldn't anything I haven't already seen. Anyway, Uncle Cyrion wants to talk to you before you leave. I'll help you style your hair before you leave too."

"What does my father want with me?" Valerie asked, rolling off the bed and shuffling over to the chest where she had put her wedding dress.

Shianni shrugged, helping her cousin out of herd current clothes and into the simple, slim wedding dress. The dress had jewels covering the top part of the dress, but considering how poor the elves were, it was very likely they were fake. After the dress was completely on and zipped up, Shianni forced Valerie onto a stool and began braiding her shoulder length red hair and then twisting it into a braid. It was a simple style, not much different from her usual style.

"Thanks Shianni," Valerie said, her green eyes taking in her newly styled hair. Giving her cousin a quick hug, Shianni departed, leaving Valerie alone so she could finish getting ready herself. With her cousin gone, Valerie quickly rushes back over to the bed and pulls out the box she always kept underneath. Opening it, she pulls out Fang, her mother's old knife. Sadly, her mother had died a while ago, but not before leaving her only child with her most treasured possession and the knowledge of how to use it. Father disapproved of her fighting, but only because he feared she would be caught with a weapon and killed.

Slipping the knife under her dress and into her boot, she heads out of her room to talk to the man himself. Her father greeted her with a short hug, and admired her appearance with a smile.

He sighed, seeming torn between happiness and sadness. "My little girl," he said with a smile. "It's the last day I'll be able to call you that. I wish your mother could have been here."

Valerie rolled her eyes. "As much as I miss mother, I wouldn't want her here to see this. Do I really have to get married can't I just stay single until I find the love of my life or some shit like that."

Cyrion shook his head. "It is our custom. You couldn't get out of it no matter how hard you tried."

She groaned, "Right now, I'd give anything to not have to be here. Can't I just run away or something? I'm just going to be unpleasant the entire ceremony. I'm sure you can do this thing without me."

Her father sighed sadly, wishing his daughter was more open to the marriage. "Just…go find Soris. The sooner this wedding starts the less chance you two have to escape."

"A small chance is still a chance," Valerie teased.

"Oh," Cyrion said, stopping the red head just before she left their home, "there was one more thing I wanted to talk to you about. The martial training, the swordplay, the knives, and whatever else your mother trained you in, best not to mention it to your betrothed."

"Why not," the elf challenged. "It's big part of me. If this Nelaros is to marry me, then he better accept me for who I am."

"We don't want to seem like troublemakers. Adaia made that mistake."

Valerie growled at her father. "Don't talk about mom that way! Those humans will pay for what they did to her, every single one of them!" She stormed out of her house, face as red as her hair with anger. Kicking a nearby bottle, the rogue attempted to calm herself before heading out to find her cousin.

The entire alienage seemed ecstatic about her wedding. Though, they might just be excited about all the drinks going around. Scowling at every 'congratulations' she got, Valerie finally tracked down Soris, who also had the pleasure of getting married that day.

"Well if it isn't my lucky cousin. Come to celebrate the end of our independence together?"

"Ha!" The girl laughed bitterly. "I'd drink to that if I weren't the bride. Something tells me father would skin me alive if he found out I was drunk the day of my wedding."

"At least your groom is a dream come true. Mine sounds like a dying mouse," Soris moaned, sounding disgusted and upset.

Valerie snorted, "I don't care how great he is. He could be the king and I'd still hate him. Though, I hate the king anyways so that wasn't the best example."

Soris laughed, "Still, at least you'll have something good to look at. Come on, let's go introduce you to your dreamy betroth before you say I do."

Hitting her cousin on the arm, she followed him to where their partners were waiting. However, they were soon sidetracked by an event near the town center.

"It's a party isn't it? Grab a whore and have a good time! Savor the hunt boys. Take this elven wench here, so young and vulnerable."

"Touch me and I'll gut you, you pig!" Shianni, whom the intruders attention was on, yelled.

Valerie groaned. Of course Vaughan would show up. She supposed it wasn't much of a surprise, considering he loved parties, and someone must have told him that the alienage was celebrating. He was at the top of her list of shemlen to kill.

"Please, my lord, we're celebrating a wedding here!"

"Silence, worm!"

Valerie began to reach down for her dagger just as the elf who had spoken up was slapped. Soris grabbed her arm to stop her saying, "I know what you're thinking but maybe we shouldn't get involved…"

"I will not let these human abuse us!"

Soris let go of her arm, knowing he couldn't stop her. "Fine, but let's try to be diplomatic, shall we?"

As they approached the scene, Vaughan caught sight of Valerie and grinned twistedly. "What's this? Another lovely to keep me company?"

"Dream on, scum!" Valerie growled.

"Maybe you should invite it over for dinner!" One of his friends laughed.

Vaughan glared at the small girl before him. "Do you have any idea who I am?"

Just as Valerie opens her mouth to make another smart ass reply, Shianni charges in with a vase and smacks the noble in the head with it. He crumbles to the ground, his friends rushing over and telling Shianni she was crazy for hitting the Arl of Denerim's son. Shianni's eyes go wide and she covers her mouth with her hand, crying in disbelief over what she had just done. Sending Soris to take care of his sister, Valerie eyes his friends and crosses her arms.

"Take him home. If you don't, just imagine what we'll do to you two." Vaughan's two friends glared at Valerie, telling her she'd regret this, before carrying their friend out of the alienage.

"I really messed up this time…" Shianni mumbled, her hands still covering her face.

"It's alright," Soris assured, "he won't tell anyone an elven woman took him down."

"I hope so…" Shianni said, standing up and composing herself. "I should go get cleaned up." Just as she left, Soris and Valerie's fiancés appeared, looking confused at the state of things.

"Is everyone else alright?" Nelaros asked.

"I think we're just shaken," the girl responded, "what was that about?

Soris laughed awkwardly, "Looks like the Arl's son started drinking too early." He cleared his throat. "Well, let's not let this ruin the day. This is Valora, my betrothed."

Valerie narrowed her eyes at the elf standing next to Valora. "And this man must be my betrothed."

Nelaros took her lightly tanned hand and placed a meaningful kiss on its back in greeting. "I am a lucky man to be so warmly welcomed." The rogue held back a snort at that. Though, she supposed she was as nice to him as she could possibly be.

"I'm sure the two of you have a lot to discuss," Soris said, winking in his cousin's direction. Valerie clenched her teeth and gave a bittersweet smile.

"Well here we are…" Nelaros said. "Are you nervous?"

"I don't get nervous."

Nelaros laughed, obviously thinking she was joking. "I thought I'd stay calm, but finally seeing you has made me…well, let's just say I'm not calm."

"Hope you don't piss yourself when you're standing on the alter," Valerie replied harshly.

"Excuse me?"

Soris quickly intervened, grabbing Valerie's slim arm, pulling her away, and saying, "Come on, Cousin. We should let them get ready!"

Valerie allowed Soris to drag her all the way to the other side of the tree before she ripped her arm out of his grip. "Why'd you pull me away I hadn't even said anything that insulting yet! If I really wanted to hurt him I'd have-"

"You're father worked hard to find a guy that would marry you can you please try to at least be civil with him."

"That was me being civil."

Soris sighed, shaking his head. "I really don't know how Uncle deals with you…" Looking away from the troublemaker before him, Soris spotted a man in the distance. "Oh, great, don't look now but we have another problem."

"What do you mean?" She asked, craning her neck to look behind her. Rolling his eyes at her antics, Soris forcibly turned her around.

"Another human just walked in. Could be one of Vaughan's or just a random troublemaker," he answered, pointing to a dark haired man that was dressed in fancy armor. However, walking beside him was a frail looking elf, which made her wonder if maybe this man was looking for servants or slaves. He looked very well off with his weapons and shiny armor, and the girl didn't look like the healthiest girl.

"There's an elf with him."

Soris looked at the human again, and noticed that there was indeed an elf with him. He replied, "She looks like a mage see that giant stick thing on her back? I wonder what a mage is doing without a Templar." Valerie shrugged in response. Soris continued, "Anyway, we need to move him along before someone does something stupid."

"We could just kill him," Valerie suggested. Soris' eyes went wide, and she immediately put his worries to rest saying, "I'm kidding that would be trouble we don't need…though it would get us out of this wedding. Let's just go talk to the prissy shem." She started off, Soris chasing after her.

"Good day," the human said when the two red heads approached him. "I understand congratulations are in order for your impending wedding."

"What business do you have here human? The alienage isn't a good place for people like you," Valerie responded, eyes glaring at his unusual politeness. Humans weren't polite to elves, and if they were, it was because they wanted something.

"I'm sorry, but I have no intention of leaving."

She growled, "Maybe I should beat it out of you then!" Soris laid a hand on her shoulder to calm her, but she simply shook it off.

"She keeps her composure, even when facing an unknown and armed human. A true gift, wouldn't you say, Valendrian?"

Valerie immediately relaxed in the presence of their alienage's Hahren, or Elder. She looked at Soris for some sort of explanation, but he seemed just as confused as she was at the thought of their leader associating with a shem.

"I would say the world has far more use of those who know how to stay their blades. It is good to see you again, my old friend. It has been far too long. And I see you have brought someone with you. Who is this beautiful woman with you?"

"This is Viveka Surana. She is a recruit I picked up during my stay at the Circle of Magi."

"You know this sh-human, Elder?" Valerie asked, attempting to act polite in front of her Elder. While she did not respect most figures of authority, like that foolish king, Valendrian was someone that held her utmost respect.

"I do indeed," Valendrian replied. "May I present Duncan, head of the Grey Wardens in Ferelden."

_'__Great,' _she thought, trying to contain her glare, '_another figure of authority.'_

"I guess since Valendrian thinks you're trustworthy, I won't bother you for now. But one wrong move and I'll be the first to gut you."

Duncan chuckled at her. Feeling as though she was being mocked, Valerie clenched her fists. Stupid shems thinking that they're all that. "I think it would be an interesting fight, my dear. It would be unwise to underestimate someone I have just had the pleasure of meeting."

Valendrian watched the affair with amusement in his eyes. "My question remains unanswered. Why are you here, Duncan?"

"The worst has happened: a Blight has begun," Duncan answered. "King Cailan summons the Grey Wardens to Ostagar to fight the darkspawn horde alongside his armies."

"Yes, I have heard the news. Still, this is an awkward time. There is to be a wedding – two, in fact."

"So I see. By all means, attend to your ceremonies. My concerns can wait, for now."

Valendrian nodded in thanks. "Very well, children, treat Duncan as my guest. And for the Maker's sake, take your places!"

"Please, do not let me interrupt further. We shall speak more later." Duncan gestured to the elf beside him – Viveka that was what he introduced her as – and left them to attend to other duties. Valerie stuck out her tongue toward his retreating figure and followed Soris up to the alter, which was only a couple footsteps away. The alienage was not that large, after all.

"Oh, Soris," Valora said once they were in position, "there you are! I was afraid you'd run off."

"No, I'm here, with Nelaros' blushing bride in tow!" He teased, winking in his cousin's direction.

"You look radiant," Nelaros said, seeming to have forgotten his fiancé's rude nature. Valerie rolled her eyes at this.

Soris laughed at her expression, but composed himself before anyone could call him out on it. "It looks like everyone's ready," he said, attempting to change the subject.

"Let's get this over with," Valerie said with a sigh.

Soris rolled his eyes at her. "Maybe it won't be so bad after all."

"Friends and family," Valendrian greeted, "today we celebrate not only this joining, but also our bonds of kin and kind. We are a free people, but that was not always so. Andraste, the Maker's prophet, freed us from the bonds of slavery. As our community grows, remember that our strength lies in commitment to tradition and to each other."

With the end of his speech, a priest of the chantry, Mother Boann, walked to the center of the alter and faced the couples. "Thank you Valendrian. Now, let us begin." Clearing her throat, she chanted, "In the name of the Maker, who brought us into this world, and in whose name we say in the Chant of Light, I-" Soris suddenly pointed behind her, and in shock, the Reverend Mother turned around to see Vaughan and his men storming through the alienage. "Milord? This is an unexpected surprise."

"Sorry to interrupt Mother," he retorted with a sneer, "but I'm having a party and we're dreadfully short of female guests." His crude laugh echoed through the area.

"Milord this is a wedding!" She scolded.

He laughed again, the sound hurting everyone's ears. "If you want to dress up your pets and have tea parties, that's your business, but don't pretend this is a proper wedding. Now, we're here for a good time, aren't we boys?"

His men chuckled, "Just a good time with the ladies, that's all."

"Let's take these two, the one in the tight dress," he thought for a moment before adding, "and where's the bitch that bottled me!

"Over here Lord Vaughan!" One of his friends shouted.

Shianni cried, "Let me go, you stuffed-shirt son of a –"

"Oh, I'll enjoy taming her," Vaughan purred. "And see the pretty bride…"

Nelaros stood proud in front of Valerie. "Don't worry; I won't let them take you." Valerie felt a warm feeling spread to her cheeks, and she realized that maybe she had misjudged him. Shaking herself out of her thoughts, she shoved him aside.

"I can't let them take Shianni! We have to fight!"

"Ah yes," Vaughan stated, leering at Valerie's body, "such a well-formed little thing."

Nelaros yelled back, "You villains!"

Vaughan waved him off and brushed the back of his hand against Valerie's cheek. She slapped it away and growled. He laughed, "That's quite enough. I'm sure we all want to avoid further…unpleasantness."

"Don't you dare touch me!" Valerie screamed. "I'll kill you!"

"But this is a party; we don't want blood all over the place now do we?" He grinned sadistically. "Oh, we're going to have some fun."

Valerie growled at him, but before she could do anything, she found herself knocked out by one of his friends. Her face hit the hard pavement, and the last thing she recalled was the splitting pain in her head.

When she woke up, Valerie's head was pounding as if she had been trampled on by a thousand horses. One of the women in the room was praying, but she didn't want to open her eyes to see who it was. The lighting would most likely just make her headache worse. However, she knew that if she didn't open her eyes, those stupid shemlen would catch her by surprise. At the sound of Shianni yelling at the woman that was pray, Valerie opened her eyes and groaned.

Shianni's face lit up with a smile. "Oh, thank the Maker you came to. We were so worried…"

"Ugh," Valerie groaned, rubbing her head. "I'm going to kill that stupid human, torture him slowly and painfully."

"They locked us in here to wait until that…bastard is 'ready for us.'" Valora said, shuddering at the idea of that human being 'ready for them.'

"We need to get out of here, and kill the next human that walks through that door for a weapon," Valerie explained, attempting to come up with some sort of a plan.

"How? How can we kill them when we have no weapons? They are fully armored!"

"Besides, the door is locked and solid!" One of the other women added.

The elf who had been praying started again. Shianni grumbled, "Great, now this again!"

"Look," one of the women said, "we'll do what they want, go home, and try to forget this ever happened!"

Valora nodded in agreement. "She's right. It'll be worse if we resist."

"It'll be worse if we don't!" Shianni disagreed.

The lock on the door suddenly rattled, and the woman exclaimed, "Someone's coming!"

Valerie rolled her eyes. "Stand behind me. I'll get us out of here alive and kill whoever gets in our war."

"Hello wenches," the guard in front said, "we're your escorts to Lord Vaughan's little party."

"Stay away from us!" The elf who had been praying exclaimed. The guard cut her down without even blinking, causing some of the women in the room to scream or cry.

"You killed her!"

"I suppose that's what happens when you try and teach whores some respect," the guard replied, acting as if he had just killed a fly instead of a person. "Now, you grab the little flower cowering in the corner. Horace and I'll take the homely bride and the drunk. You two, bind the last one. She's the scrapper."

Everyone getting grabbed but her, Valerie discovered that she was the scrapper. Two guards walked over to her, rope in their hands, and said, "Don't worry; we'll be perfect gentlemen."

The other continued, "Now, you heard the captain. Be a good little wench or you'll end up like your friend, there."

Valerie growled. "Try it, and see what body parts you'll lose first!"

The guard laughed. "I'm so scared."

"Uh, hello?"

The rogue gasped; Soris, what was he doing here! Where did he get that sword?

"Oh, look at this: a little elfling with a stolen sword."

Soris slid the sword through the guards' feet over to where Valerie was standing. As she bent down to retrieve the blade, she pulled her dagger out as well, not caring if it cut her dress or leg. Yelling a battle cry, she charged at the two men, slicing right below their helmets and through the crack with her blade. Their necks were only scratched, but it was enough of a start. They quickly grabbed their own blades, but the shock of an elf knowing how to fight made them clumsy. Valerie took care of them fairly quickly, and spat on their corpses as their blood spilled onto the floor.

"I can't believe they killed her," Soris said, grief pouring through his words as he looked at the dead body of the elf they had killed just moments before. "Are you alright? They didn't hurt you did they?"

Valerie scoffed, "I hurt them more than they even looked at me." She frowned at her wedding dress. It was covered in blood. She sighed, knowing father would be sad, but he would understand. Deciding that it was already trashed, the rogue sliced the side of her gown up to her thigh to make fighting easier.

"That Grey Warden, Duncan, gave Nelaros and me his sword and crossbow, but that's all we have. That one elf that was with him, Viveka I think, gave me a couple health potions she had made and told me to make the best of them."

"Nelaros is here?" Valerie suddenly felt extremely guilty for the way she had treated him before. She had misjudged him, it seemed.

"Yes, he is the reason we're here. He lost it on those who wanted to 'hope for the best.' I…didn't know what to do."

Valerie sighed, knowing that the next time she saw Nelaros she would apologize. Any man who was willing to step in and try to save her was worth spending time with in her book. "You're here now, that's what matters. I hope you know how to use that thing because I have a feeling there's going to be a lot of resistance."

Soris nodded. "Nelaros is guarding the end of the hall. Let's figure this out with him."

Valerie was right about resistance, for as soon as they left the room the women had been held in, the cooks in the next room were questioning them.

"What's this? I don't recognize you, elf. Wait, is that blood! You're bandits, rebels, outlaws! The guards will make quick work of –" The elf cook that was standing beside him knocked him out with his fist.

"You have no idea how long that shem's had it coming," he said, seeming proud of himself.

"Have you seen a group of elven women come this way?" Valerie asked, not bothering to talk small talk and getting straight to the point.

He nodded. "Yes, dragged them to Lord Vaughan's chambers, they did. You should hurry if you want to help them. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm getting out of here before the storm hits." With that being said, the elf dashed away without another word.

"Well," Soris spoke, "at least we know we're going the right way."

The next room appeared to be where the guards would eat their meals, as there were rows and rows of tables in the room. One of the tables had a human sitting at it, and he immediately confronted them.

"Where'd you get a weapon, elf?"

"You better talk quick, scum," another one shouted.

"Oh this old thing," Valerie asked, taking the sword out of its harness. "It doesn't really matter where I got it from now does it? You'll be dead in a second anyways."

The guards all gave an angered expression and pulled out their blades or cracked their knuckles in preparation for a fight. Valerie grinned, adrenaline already pumping through her body as the men charged at her. These guards were more easily taken down since they were not wearing their armor. Once their pathetic bodies were crumpled on the floor in their own blood, Soris and Valerie continued down the hall. Soris was a little disturbed by the battle and killing all of the people, but Valerie had a grin on her face that grew winder and winder with every drop of blood that decorated it.

The following rooms and halls were empty, though some of the rooms had chests that Valerie was happen to pick open for the loot. They kept whatever money or jewels they found, and if they found any potions they packed those away in Soris' pack as well. Valerie wished she had a pack to help her cousin carry all the things they were finding since by the end of their adventure he would most likely be straining under the weight. Maybe Nelaros would have a pack and he could help Soris carry everything.

Turning a corner, they came upon another door. Opening it as if it were any other door, Valerie was shocked to see Nelaros cut down before them by a guard. She screamed, knowing that now she would never get to apologize or get to truly know the man who had risked his life to save her.

"See, I told you there would be more," the guard who had killed Nelaros said, gesturing to the two red headed elves that had just entered the room. "Elves run in packs, like rodents."

"Should we keep the knife-eared bitch alive?"

"They killed our boys. She dies."

Unable to come up with a retort, Valerie charged blindly into battled, hacking at the guards before her. Her attacks were sloppy, and half of them just bounced off their armor. Luckily, Soris was in his right mind and was able to make critical shots to make up for his cousin's lack of focus. When the men were on the floor, dead, Valerie continued to hack up their bodies until Soris came over and placed a hand on her shoulder. With a sob, Valerie fell to her knees, moaning one of the bravest men she had ever known. He had only known her for a short time and within that short time she had been nothing but rude to him, but he still came for her. He would always have her respect, maybe not as her husband, but as a loyal friend.

Valerie looked over his body and noticed something bulging in his pocket. Reaching into his pocked, she pulled out a small box that held their wedding rings. Nelaros' was too big for any of her fingers, but her own fit her ring finger as if it were meant to belong there. She placed his ring in her shoe, vowing to put it on a necklace later to further honor his sacrifice.

"I'm so sorry," Soris said, placing a comforting hand on his cousin's shoulder. "We'll make sure his death wasn't in vain."

Valerie nodded and reluctantly left her fiancé's body behind. As they traveled through the estate, the fought more guards. They were all nameless faces to her, so she had no problems with her anger or sadness in cutting them down. Soris was getting more and more used to killing people, but she could still tell that he was at least a bit disgusted with his actions. After traveling for what felt like ages, they finally arrived at a door that when opened it revealed Vaughan, his men, and Shianni.

"My, my, what have we hear?"

Vaughan was just tying up his pants when they entered the room. He seemed very amused at their presence and seemed very pleased with himself.

"Don't worry," his men assured, "we'll make short work of these two."

"Quiet, you idiot! They're covered with enough blood to fill a tub. What do you think that means?" Vaughan asked, sounded irritated at his companion's confidence.

"Shut up, you bastards! You're going to pay for what you've done! I want your blood all over this floor!"

"Alright, let's not be too hasty here. Surely we can talk this over…"

"The only thing I want is your head," Valerie snarled with her blades already in her hands. She didn't give Vaughan time to respond. She charged right in and began to attack his unarmored body. Soris took care of his two friends while she dealt with Vaughan. Though he was unarmored, this did not make the fight any less challenging. He was well trained, surprisingly since he was drunk most of the time. It wasn't really surprising though, since he was the Arl's son. The battle was long, painstakingly long, and Soris had even killed the two minions before she defeated Vaughan. When the battle was complete, she had a cut on her arm that was bleeding profusely and a few nicks on her legs. Soris wasn't in too bad of shape, since he had shot them from a distance, but he was still covered in blood that was most likely his own as well as the enemies'.

"He's dead," Soris said, shock filling his tone. "Tell me we did the right thing, Cousin."

Stepping on their dead bodies and spitting on them, Valerie laughed, "Fuck yes, we did. Now those bastards can leave us the hell alone. I've never been happier." Her smile suddenly faded as she remembered Shianni, who was sitting on the floor a few feet away.

Her dress was in tatters, and her hair looked like a birds nest. Her eyes had red around them, showing that she had been crying. Valerie stopped her destruction of Vaughan's body and walked over to her cousin, laying a gentile hand on her shoulder. Shianni flinched, but relaxed after realizing it was Valerie.

"I'm so sorry," Valerie cried. "I was supposed to protect you." She hugged her cousin close, letting her cry on her. A couple tears escaped Valerie's own eyes, but overall she made herself a wall for her cousin to lean on. No words needed to be said to explain what had happened to her. Soris had gone and helped the other girls out of wherever they had been, and when he returned, he picked Shianni up into his arms. They walked out of the castle and returned to the alienage, not a word being spoken by any of them.

The moment they walked through the alienage's gate, Valendrian was waiting for them along with Duncan and Viveka. Valendrian started asking questions immediately, making sure they were alright.

"You have returned. Has Shianni been hurt? Where is Tormey's daughter, Nola?"

"Nola didn't make it," Valora answered. "She resisted and…"

"They killed her," Shianni finished.

Soris sighed, looking grim. "Nelaros, too, the guards killed him."

"I see," Valendrian replied, sorrow evident on his face. "Would the rest of you ladies please take Shianni home? She needs rest."

"Of course."

Soris placed Shianni onto the ground, and Valora helped walk her back home.

Valendrian looked to Valerie. "Now tell me: what happened?"

"Vaughan's dead," Valerie replied, a small smile appearing on her face that threatened to turn wide. She was proud of her accomplishment.

"Then the garrison could already be on their way. You have little time," Duncan said.

"I'm not sure what to do…" Valerie responded. As much as she wanted to kill them, that would only make matters worse.

"The guards are here!"

"Don't panic," Valendrian comforted. "Let's see what comes of this."

The guards stormed into the alienage, their armor clinking as they walked. The leader, who was at the front of the pack, spoke, "I seek Valendrian, Elder and administrator of the alienage."

"Here, Captain. I take it you have come in response to today's disruption."

The Captain scowled. "Don't play ignorant with me, Elder. You will not prevent justice from being done. The Arl's son lies dead in a river of blood that runs through the entire palace! I need names, and I need them now!"

Valerie stood proud before the guards and declared, "It was my doing!"

"You expect me to believe one woman did all of that?"

Valendrian responded to that, sounding somewhat pleased, "We are not all so helpless, Captain."

"You save many by coming forward. I don't envy your fate, but I applaud your courage," the guard said, seeming to be actually impressed by her. "This elf will wait in the dungeons until the Arl returns. The rest of you, back to your houses!"

Duncan stopped the guard just as he was about to grab Valerie. "Captain, a word, if you please."

"What is it Grey Warden? The situation is well under control, as you can see."

"Be that as it may," Duncan replied, "I hereby invoke the Grey Warden's Right of Conscription. I remove this woman into my custody."

Valerie's eyes went wide. Her? A Grey Warden! That wasn't at all how she pictured today ending. She supposed the good thing was that she could kill darkspawn all day, which would be a good way to appease her bloodlust.

The guard cursed, "Son of a tied down – very well, Grey Warden; I cannot challenge your rights, but I'll ask one thing: Get this elf out of the city, today!"

"Agreed."

"Now," the Captain continued, "I need to get my men on the street before this news gets out. Move out!"

"You're with me now. Say your goodbyes, and see me when you are ready. We leave immediately." Duncan paused and looked at her before adding, "Welcome to the Grey Wardens, Valerie Tabris."


	3. Lirim Amell

**i've**** decided that i'm going to continue this. sorry that this took so long to get up, i blame finals. ill try and have a chapter up every week, but its not a guarantee. this one isnt nearly as long as the other chapter, but its still longer than the first. the next chapter will have the events of their joining, and maybe the events of Ostagar. **

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**Lirim Amell**

The journey to Ostagar was a long and hard one. Duncan only had one horse so they had to take turns riding it, and they had to take a break every so often for the horses. The roads were also filled with merchants and bandits, none of them yet realizing the danger they were in due to the Blight. The darkspawn, at least, did not start appearing until they were a little closer to their destination.

Viveka learned that she was very scared of Valerie, and Valerie discovered that Viveka annoyed her. Valerie thought she was too quiet and too much of a doormat to be taken seriously. She noticed the brunette was always so hesitant even toward the easiest questions. Her fascination with the outdoors was really weird. During their breaks or whenever they would camp, she would catch the mage sprawled out in the grass looking up at the stars or clouds depending on the time of day. Perhaps the Circle was more of a prison than the Chantry made it out to be.

Viveka found everything about the rogue to be intimidating. Confidence poured from everything she did from just plain talking to fighting on the battlefield. Her voice was rough, so rough that it sometimes sounded as though she were growling. She was extremely assertive too and had no sense for personal space. Valerie even acted this way toward Duncan, and sometimes it involved saying or doing very rude or insulting things. Duncan was a human, and she was an elf. Didn't she know what humans did to elves with that kind of attitude?

Speaking of Duncan, both elves could agree that he was a strange human. He treated Viveka with respect that she had never had before from a human that was not a mage. Valerie's aggressive behavior and her insults seemed to amuse more than upset him. Neither recruit knew quite what to make of him.

However, Duncan was as normal as the sky was blue compared to Lirim Amell.

About two days away from Ostagar, the small group came across a little hut in the middle of nowhere. Lothering was probably less than a day's journey away, which was why it was so odd that this small home was way out here instead of closer to civilization. From what they could see, no one was home at the moment, but the tended garden and clean appearance of the house suggested that someone did indeed live there. Valerie wanted to break in and rest a little, but Duncan told her that Grey Wardens didn't burst into someone else's home purely because they could. Viveka wanted to voice her opinion, which was to borrow some of the garden's foods and leave a note of thanks, but she didn't think it was wise to oppose Duncan.

Duncan said they could camp near the house for that night, though. He ordered Viveka to keep watch while he took Valerie out hunting. Since she had shown interest and asked him multiple times if he would teach her, Duncan had begun taking her out and showing her the ropes. He taught her how to hunt with a bow and arrow, since that was how he had been taught. Viveka had been asked before if she wanted to learn as well, but she always declined, saying she was content with the cooking and cleaning of the food.

As the two were off, Viveka started the fire and pushed a nearby log over by the fire to sit on. Once everything was set up, she relaxed and rested her aching feet. The elf really hoped that she would get her own horse one day so she would no longer have to walk anywhere.

The moon was reaching its peak in the sky when a lone figure approached the little hut. The figure appeared to have a man's stature. He stopped walking when he noticed the camp's fire and seemed to be debating something. In the end, he must have decided to come over because he began to stride over.

Once he was in the light, Viveka could pick out his features.

His hair was dark, shaggy, and wild. His skin had a nice tan, proving that the garden in the front of his house was his doing. Friendly brown eyes greeted her when she reached his face, and so did a warm smile. He had strong, muscled arms, yet despite the giant ax on his back, he did not seem like a warrior.

"Hello there," he welcomed. "Might I ask what such a small, delicate flower such as yourself is doing way out here all alone?"

Viveka started inching away from him on her log. "I…I um," her head looked to the forest, hoping Duncan or Valerie would return. "I'm…I'm here w-with others," she stuttered.

"Others huh? Where are you all going? Nothing out here but rocks and trees and dirt."

She shrugged, not knowing if Duncan wanted her to reveal anything to an outsider.

The man slipped his ax off his back and gestured to the log, asking, "May I join you? It's a dangerous world for beautiful ladies to be all alone."

Viveka hesitated, but nodded in motion that he could join. While he was a stranger and his frame scared her, it was better than being alone in the dark. She also made sure her staff was close, just in case things went wrong.

"Lirim Amell," he said, holding out his hand for her to shake. The elf eyed it wearily, and took hold of his fingers instead of his hand to shake.

"V-Viveka Sur-Surana."

The night was calm after that. Lirim kept trying to talk more with Viveka, but she only responded with nods and shrugs.

A sudden shriek filled the air. Shrieks and darkspawn ran toward the campsite, seeming to be tracking something. At the sight of them, Viveka leapt to her feet and began freezing every single one she saw and electrocuting them for good measure. Lirim turned out to not be a warrior. He was a mage, though he was able to fight with both magic and his ax. Viveka had never seen anything like it. Half way through the fight, he was tacked by a gang of herlocks. He hit the ground hard, and the creatures began growling and tearing at him. In a panic, Viveka froze the darkspawn, accidentally turning Lirim into ice in the process.

A battle cry ripped through the scene as a fiery red head flew into battle, her blades tight in her grip as she danced around the field, sinking her blades into everything that got in her way. Duncan arrived not long after. The darkspawn seemed to be drawn to him, and they rushed at him unless otherwise occupied. The Grey Warden slashed through them as if they were butter and ran across the field to get to where Lirim was still frozen. He shattered the darkspawn above him and then left to help finish off the rest.

Once all dead, Valerie helped Viveka lift Lirim off the ground. Wincing at the frozen horror on his face, the mage started to immediately unfreeze him. Fire was not her specialty so she had to be very careful not to go overboard with the heat. When his head was finally out of the ice, Lirim let out a loud, piercing scream. Viveka jumped back in surprise, a jolt of fire shooting out of her hand and singeing the ground below her. Lirim was freaking out, and in an attempt to calm him, Viveka tried to melt him the rest of the way.

"Oh Maker, I feel so cold!"

Duncan approached the mage, eyeing him curiously. He stated, "It seems as though you have been infected by the taint." Looking to Viveka, he continued, "You mentioned that this man was able to fight with not only a weapon but magic as well correct?"

"Y-yes, sir," she replied.

"Since you possess interesting qualities that would be very beneficial to the Grey Wardens, how would you like to come with us and train as a recruit?"

Lirim, who could now move his fingers and was doing so quite enthusiastically, responded, "Grey Warden huh? Would that make this weird humming I'm hearing go away? Because I'm game if it does this is really annoying."

Duncan chuckled, "I cannot promise that, but it might make the humming more tolerable."

Finally free, Lirim stretched his muscles. "Thanks, beautiful," the mage said, sending a wink in Viveka's direction. The brunette blushed and hid her face in her long hair and behind her hands. "I'll just have to come up with some lyrics to this tune then; make a theme song or something. But," Lirim shook out his hand and offered it to Duncan, "I will gladly join you. I'd like to live at least a little longer."

"Glad to have you with us," Duncan responded.

Valerie snorted, cleaning the blood off her dagger. "You look like a pretty boy. Don't walk too close to me I might stab you just for breathing my air. Not to mention you got tackled by some weak ass darkspawn; not giving me a very good first impression."

Lirim raised an eyebrow at the aggressive rogue and teased, "Such a dirty mouth for someone so pretty."

The moment the words were out of his mouth, a dagger was against his throat and green eyes were in his face.

"Call me that again," Valerie growled, "and you'll find your own mouth and maybe some other body parts completely separated from the rest of your body."

Lirim's face lost all its color, and his playful smile vanished from his face. "Right," he squeaked, "no more flirting with you."

Viveka watched the two, practically on the edge with worry. She didn't want them to kill each other. Scratch that: she didn't want Valerie to kill him. Hopefully they'd get used to one another. She had a feeling Duncan wouldn't appreciate it if he woke up one day and Lirim was missing a finger…or a hand.

The mage sighed and pulled her hair out of its sloppy pony tail. Half of it had fallen out, and she was considering just cutting it. Maybe she could ask Valerie; her hair was a nice shoulder length that she kept nice and tamed. Oh well, she could ask her in the morning.

Looking up at the sky and away from her companions, Viveka knew that her journey was only beginning, and she had a feeling that it would be so much more than just fighting darkspawn.


	4. Ostagar

**Sorry this took so long**

* * *

**Ostagar**

Ostagar was large. It had high, stone walls surrounding its interior that stretched somewhere over a mile long. Viveka thought that it might even be as tall as the circle, though she knew that this was much, much wider. The structure itself was a little worn down, but in her opinion it just showed the history it had. She knew that no matter how destroyed it looked, it would be a formidable structure.

The sickness was starting to hit Lirim hard. He coughed up blood every now and then, but he still put on a cheerful show and flirted with Viveka whenever he got the chance. It was embarrassing, and she hoped that he didn't like her in that way; she was still uncomfortable around people, human men specifically. She was a bit more comfortable around Valerie, but the other elf did not seem to like her very much. Though, she didn't seem to like anyone very much.

"Ho there, Duncan!"

Viveka gasped. It was the king! She had heard many things about him. While most of the things she heard were not good – a lot of people called him rather childish – he was a figure of authority and therefore should be respected. Valerie did not appear to share her thoughts, since a disgusted grimace was plastered on her face. Lirim looked indifferent, but he didn't seem like he was going to be bowing anytime soon.

"King Cailan?" Duncan responded, shaking the gold, armored hand before him. "I didn't expect –"

Cailan grinned, looking overjoyed at seeing Duncan. "A royal welcome? I was beginning to worry you'd miss all the fun!"

"Not if I could help it, your majesty."

"Then I shall have the mighty Duncan at my side in battle after all! Glorious! The other Wardens told me you found some promising recruits. I take it these are them?" Cailan attention turned to the three people standing to the side.

Duncan nodded, "Allow me to introduce you, your majesty."

"No need to be so formal, Duncan," Cailan denied. "We'll be shedding blood together, after all. Ho there, friends. Might I know your names?"

"V-Viveka, yo-your majesty," Viveka answered, inching to hide behind Lirim once she had spoken.

Lirim gave a wide grin and said, "You can call me Lirim, if you'd like. I'm not really that picky."

Valerie snorted, "That's why I call you pretty boy." She turned her gaze to the king and glared, "You don't deserve to know my name."

Cailan seemed taken aback by her reply but he shook it off with a laugh. "You've got quite the group here. Pleased to meet you! The Grey Wardens are desperate to bolster their numbers, and I, for one, am glad to help them. Allow me to be the first to welcome you all to Ostagar. The Wardens will benefit greatly with you in their ranks."

Valerie scoffed and looked away, Viveka hid further behind Lirim and squeaked out a 'thank you, your majesty,' and Lirim teased, "We'll have to see about that."

"I'm sorry to cut this short, but I should return to my tent. Loghain waits eagerly to bore me with his strategies."

Before the king could leave Duncan cut in, "Your Uncle sends his greetings and reminds you that Redcliffe forces could be here in less than a week."

Calain laughed. "Eamon just wants in on the glory. We've won three battles against these monsters, and tomorrow should be no different."

"You sound very confident about that," Valerie growled, doubting his words.

"Overconfident, some would say, right Duncan," he replied, amused.

"Your majesty," Duncan sighed, sounding as if he had said this many times before, "I'm not certain the Blight can be ended quite as quickly as you might wish."

Calain shook his head. "I'm not even sure if this is a true Blight. There are plenty of darkspawn on the field, but, alas, we've seen no sign of the archdemon."

"Disappointed, your majesty?"

"I'd hope for a war like in the tales," the king admitted, "the king riding with the fabled Grey Wardens against a tainted god, but I suppose this will have to do. I must go before Loghain sends out a search party. Farewell, Grey Wardens."

As the king marched away with his entourage of guards, Duncan turned to his recruits. "What the king said is true. They've won several battles against the darkspawn here."

"You don't sound very reassured," Lirim said.

Duncan sighed, "Despite the victories so far, the darkspawn horde grows larger with each passing day. By now, they look to outnumber us. I know there is an archdemon behind this, but I cannot ask the king to act solely on my feeling."

Valerie replied harshly, "You could if he were not such a fool."

"You must not speak of the king so. He is…overeager, perhaps, but he is also one of the few Grey Warden allies. Our numbers in Ferelden are too few. We must do what we can and look to Teyrn Loghain to make up the difference. To that end, we must proceed with the Joining ritual without delay."

"Ritual?" Lirim and Valerie both questioned. Valerie groaned, "Can't we eat or rest or something first?"

Duncan chuckled. "I agree. We have until nightfall to begin the ritual. Every recruit must go through a secret ritual we call the Joining in order to become a Grey Warden. The ritual is brief, but some preparation is required. We must begin soon."

Valerie's seemingly eternal glare was aimed at Duncan this time. "Why so secretive, huh?"

"The Joining is dangerous," Duncan answered. "I cannot speak more of it except to say that you will learn all in good time. Until then, you must trust that what is done is necessary."

Viveka spoke up. "Wh-what do yo-you need us t-to do?"

Duncan shrugged, showing that he didn't care. "Feel free to explore the camp here as you wish. All I ask is that you do not leave it for the time being. There is another Grey Warden here by the name of Alistair. When you are ready, seek him out and tell him it's time to summon the other recruits. The Grey Warden tent is on the other side of this bridge. You will find us there, should you need to." Duncan bowed and departed across the bridge.

Valerie sighed. "I need better supplies. I just looted these swords and armor off some bandits since Duncan didn't have time to buy me anything. That's where I'll be if you need me, though you better not need me."

Viveka watched in panic as the elf walked away, her posture as confident as ever.

"Would you mind taking me to the medical area?" Lirim begged. "I know Duncan said this sickness or whatever couldn't be cured normally but they've got to have a pain killer at least…"

Viveka nodded. "S-sure, are…are you in pain," she whispered.

Lirim hesitated, the unsure expression looking very strange on his face. "It's nothing I can't handle. Don't worry yourself, Sunshine."

The brunette blushed. He had been calling her that ever since he found out she got up early every morning to watch the sun rise. As the two started walking, she asked, "H-have you picked o-out a n-nickname for V-Valerie yet?" The mage had told her that he loved giving nicknames to people, and that Valerie was proving to be tricky. He had said he wanted it to go along with her bright red hair, but everything he thought of seemed so overdone or stupid.

"I have indeed found a nickname for our 'oh so cheerful' companion. What do you think of Cherry?"

Viveka winced. "I…I think sh-she's go-going to kill you."

"That bad huh?" Lirim shrugged. "I'm sticking with it, anything to get back at her for calling me pretty boy."

Ostagar's inside was just as intimidating as its outside. Tents and people were everywhere, and it was as loud as the Circle was during dinner time. The medical camp turned out not to be too far away, and it was right by the exit to the wilds. Lirim told Viveka to go on without him since it might take a while, and despite how much she feared being alone in such a crowded place, she didn't want to be a bother to Lirim. Besides, she wanted to the check out the shops here herself. Duncan had given them all some money to spend in order to supply themselves with everything they needed, and while the robes and staff Duncan had bought her before were nice, she knew that there were some staffs better than a meager Magic and Mage robes. They didn't even have cool names like some of the other mages had.

Viveka back tracked the way she came from, remembering that she had seen Duncan from where she had been walking with Lirim. Since she didn't know where the shops were, it might be best to ask him instead of wandering around like an idiot.

"Viveka, what are you doing over here so soon?"

The mage looked down at her feet. "I…I um…d-do you know w-where the sh-shops are?"

Duncan smiled kindly at her. "There is a trader not far from here. He is a little farther up this path." He pointed in the opposite direction of the bridge.

"Th-thank you."

As she walked away from Duncan, she noticed the dog kennels not far from where she was standing. The giant hounds around the camp scared her, but curiosity got the best of her and she found herself walking over to the pens despite her fear.

"This is not good," a voice sounded near one of the hounds. "I'd hate to waste such a promising member of the breed." The man turned around and spotted Viveka. She tried to run away before he spoke to her, but she was too late. "Are you one of the new Wardens? I could use some help."

Viveka tensed up. Why her? Why couldn't he have caught the interest of Valerie or Lirim? She knew Valerie must have gone in this direction at some point! Sighing, she gathered up what little courage she had and asked, "Wh-what's the pr-problem?"

"This is a mabari: smart breed and strong. His owner died in the last battle, and the poor hound swallowed darkspawn blood. I have medicine that might help him, but I need him muzzled first."

"Wh-what would happen i-if he do-doesn't get muzzled?"

The man sighed, looking saddened at the thought. "I'd have to put him down."

Viveka looked through the gate at the dog whimpering on the ground. She felt sorry for it, and she could remember what it was like to be on the brink of death. However, he wasn't being killed for being a 'demon;' he was being killed for having an illness.

"I…I'll give it a sh-shot."

"Go in the pen and let him smell you. We'll know right away if he'll respond. Let's hope this works. I'd really hate to have to put him down."

The guard opened the gate to the kennel and Viveka nervously entered. At the sound of the gate opening, the dog sat up. His stance was aggressive, and Viveka was hesitant to offer her hand for him to sniff. With some encouragement from the guard, who was still on the other side of the gate, she reached out a shaky hand for the hound. He sniffed it, and for some reason he backed down. He looked up to Viveka with something that seemed like respect in his eyes, along with a lot of intelligence. Sadly, there was also pain in his eyes, proving how sick the poor dog was. Viveka reaches over to muzzle him, which causes him to growl at her. Telling herself that it was just like waking Valerie up in the morning, she put the muzzle on and attempted to ignore the whimpering that followed.

"Well done," the guard praised once she was out of the pen. "Now I can treat the dog properly – poor fellow. Come to think of it, are you heading into the wilds any time soon?""

"I-I might be. Wh-why?"

"There's a particular herb I could use to improve the dog's chances. It's a flower that grows in the swamps here, if I remember. It's called the wilds flower."

Viveka replied, "I-I'll look for i-it if I c-can." The guard seemed content with this response, and dismissed her with a wave of his hand.

On the other side of the camp, Valerie was facing some problems of her own.

"You there, elf! Where is my armor? Why are you dressed so preposterously?"

The trader had been on the other side of the camp from the bridge. He was a balding man, probably somewhere in his prime. He was also very rude, and Valerie didn't take very kindly to his attitude.

"You better watch your tongue, human!" She snarled. "I'm here to become a Grey Warden; I could kill you on the spot!"

The merchant jumped back in surprised and rushed out, "You're…oh! Yes, of course. I…please forgive my rudeness! There are so many elves running about, and I've been waiting for…it's simply been so hectic! I never thought…please, pardon my terrible manners! I…I am just the quartermaster, a simple man, no one special!"

Valerie glowered at the man, hands itching to grab her blades and slit his throat. Taking a deep breath and knowing that if she did kill the man Duncan would be displeased with her, she put on a twisted smile and asked, "Let me see your supplies." The merchant stepped aside and allowed her access to the table.

Duncan had given each of them a total of five gold pieces, sovereigns as some people liked to call them, to buy what they needed. The light chainmail she had gotten from the bandits was too heavy for a rogue, so when she spotted the complete studded leather armor set, she quickly grabbed the boots, armor, and gloves and paid for the set. He also had a couple health potions, which she also gathered up and put them into the pouch on her belt. He had a nice longsword and dagger. However, the dagger was nothing compared to Fang, the dagger that had belonged to her mother before she died. Her father had given it to her as a parting gift before she had left the alienage. She did buy the longsword, though, and still had about four gold pieces left.

"V-Valerie, I-I didn't think y-you'd still b-be here."

The red head turned around and sighed at the sight of her skittish companion, Viveka.

"Is that a problem?" She challenged.

Viveka blushed, "N-no of course n-not."

"Will you ever stop that?"

"E-Excuse me?" Viveka's eyes widened at the question.

Valerie huffed, "that annoying stuttering. For the Maker's sake, you're going to be a Grey Warden. Man up, won't you? I don't wanna have some wuss following me around everywhere."

Viveka shrunk back, feeling smaller than normal due to the feisty elf before her. It didn't help that Valerie was taller than her by half a head. "S-sorry…"

"Don't apologize!"

"S-"

"Ugh, you're never going to grow a backbone are you?"

The rogue shoved past her, annoyed, and was satisfied when she heard the girl hit the ground with a thump.

"Wait! Please wait," the mage cried, without a single stutter.

Valerie halted in her steps. "What," she hissed.

"Nevermind…" Viveka had wanted to ask her to help her grow stronger but had lost her nerve. She was weak; Valerie wouldn't want to waste her time with someone like her.

As she sat there wallowing, a hand appeared before her to help her up. Looking up in shock, Viveka saw a young man with dark hair and stubble. A large bow was strapped to his back, and a pair of daggers was on his waist. Viveka took the hand that was offered to her, and blushed as he helped her up.

"The name's Daveth. Who might you be?"

"Viveka…"

"You're one of the other recruits then?" Daveth asked. "I'm going to assume that rude little lady over there was Valerie Tabris. We were all warned to stay on her good side. Don't know what you did but I pity you."

Viveka shrugged, looking down at her feet. "I-I don't know. She do-doesn't seem t-to like me v-very m-much." She glanced over at the quartermaster and hesitantly asked, "Would…would you m-mind helping m-me shop? I-I've never done it b-before."

Daveth nodded. "I wouldn't mind at all. I'd be honored to help a fellow recruit out."

Viveka was able to buy plenty of lesser lyrium potions for the trip, but fell short in silvers for a fancy Enchanter's Staff. Daveth was kind enough to lend her the money, and Viveka gave him every cent she got from selling her old staff. Lirim joined them just as they were finishing up, saying that the healers couldn't do much for him. He also wanted to buy some items and found some lyrium potions that Viveka had missed. He eyed a nice battleaxe too and added it to his purchases.

Remembering how he had fought with both magic and axe, Viveka asked, "H-how can you u-use both?"

"You mean using magic and an axe?" Lirim clarified. "My mother was a mage while my father was a woodcutter. He taught me how to use an axe in order to defend myself without using magic and reveling myself to the Templars. My mother taught me everything I needed to know about magic, and every field was explored. I mostly use primal, but I'm not too bad of a healer. After they died, I taught myself to combine their teachings. I might be able to teach you one day if you'd like."

Viveka shook her head at the offer. "N-no thank you." While she wanted to be able to defend herself, she knew she wasn't strong enough to fight with much more than a light dagger.

Lirim shrugged, "Suit yourself. Know the offer is always open, Sunshine. Let's head over to Duncan; I'm sure he'll want to update us for this whole ritual thing."

Valerie was steaming as she stormed away from her pathetic companion. How could someone be so…weak!

"What is it now," a voice whined a few feet away from her. "Haven't Grey Wardens asked more than enough of the Circle?"

The man receiving the mage's complaints was blonde with short hair that was styled better than most of the other men at the camp. The front was combed up, and the back was smoothed down perfectly. He was covered in splintmail armor along with a sword and shield strapped to his back. Whatever muscles he had were covered by the armor, though he seemed lean for a human.

"I simply came to deliver a message from the revered mother, ser mage. She desires your presence."

The mage scoffed, "What her reverence 'desires' is of no concern to me! I am busy helping the Grey Wardens – by the king's orders, I might add."

The blonde sighed, "Should I have asked her to write a note?"

"Tell her I will not be harassed in this manner!"

"Yes, I was harassing you by delivering a message."

"Your glibness does you no credit."

The blonde cheekily replied, "Here I thought we were getting along so well. I was even going to name one of my children after you…the grumpy one."

"Enough!" The mage said, exasperated. "I will speak to the woman if I must! Get out of my way, fool!"

As he stormed away, the blonde faced Valerie and smiled, "You know, the one good thing about the Blight is how it brings people together."

Valerie raised an eyebrow. "You're a very strange human."

"You are not the first to tell me that." He looked the red head over and stated, "Wait, we haven't met, have we? You wouldn't happen to be another mage?"

Crossing her arms, Valerie questioned, "Would that make your day worse?"

"Hardly," he denied, "I just like to know my chances at being turned into a toad at any given moment. Wait, I do know who you are. You're one of Duncan's new recruits; I'm guessing the elf from Denerim. I should've recognized you right away. I apologize."

"How could you recognize me?" She asked, confused.

"Duncan sent word," he replied. "He spoke quite highly of you." He held out his hand for Valerie to shake. "Allow me to introduce myself: I'm Alistair, the new Grey Warden, though I guess you knew that. As the junior member of the order, I'll be accompanying you when you prepare for the Joining."

Valerie looked at the outstretched hand in disgust, but shook it nonetheless as quickly as she could. Deciding that she could be polite for once in order to get information, Valerie asked, "What can you tell me about this Joining?"

"Honestly, nothing. Try not to worry about it. It will…just distract you."

Valerie sighed: so much for being nice. This was just proof that being nice and polite and asking questions instead of threatening for information was useless.

"You know," Alistair said, shaking Valerie from her thoughts, "it just occurred to me that there have never been many women in the Grey Wardens. I wonder why that is."

Valerie shrugged and remarked, "Probably because we're too smart for you."

"True. But if you're here, then what does that make you?" Alistair replied, a smirk plastered on his face. Valerie glared murderously at him, and the smirk slowly vanished from his face and was replaced with nervousness.

Alistair coughed and changed the subject, "So, I'm curious: Have you ever actually encountered darkspawn before?"

"I have," Valerie replied. "On our way down here we actually got ambushed."

"When I fought my first one, I wasn't prepared for how monstrous it was. I can't say I'm looking forward to encountering another." Alistair gave an encouraging smile and continued, "Anyhow, whenever you're ready, let's head back to Duncan. I imagine he's eager to get things started."

Valerie sneered, "You don't have to accompany me, do you?"

"Don't worry," Alistair replied, not insulted at all, "I'll try not to embarrass you."

Sighing, the elf said, "Let's go, then."

When they arrived at Duncan's campsite, Valerie was surprised to see both Lirim and Viveka there before her. Beside them was a man with a bow strapped to his back and another with a great sword. Those must be the other recruit she had heard about.

"You found Alistair, did you?" Duncan said when he spotted them. "Good, I'll assume you are ready to begin preparations. Assuming, of course, that you're quite finished riling up mages, Alistair."

"What can I say," Alistair defended. "The revered mother ambushed me. The way she wields guilt they should stick her in the army.

Duncan responded, "She forced you to sass the mages, did she? We cannot afford to antagonize anyone, Alistair. We don't need to give anyone more ammunition against us."

"You're right, Duncan. I apologize."

"Now then, since you're all here, we can begin. You six will be heading into the Korcari Wilds to preform two tasks. The first one is to obtain five vials of darkspawn blood, one for each recruit."

Lirim questioned, "Surely you could've gotten some by now?"

"Of course," Duncan said, amused. "You must work together to collect the components, however. It's as much a part of the Joining as what comes after."

"And the second task?" Valerie asked, eager to go out and kill things.

"There was once a Grey Warden archive in the wilds, abandoned long ago when we could no longer afford to maintain such remote outposts. It has recently come to our attention that some scrolls have been left behind, magically sealed to protect them. Alistair, I want you to retrieve these scrolls if you can."

"And just how will we find this archive," Valerie inquired. She hated the fact that Duncan seemed to be using them to run errands.

"It will be in an overgrown ruin by now," Duncan answered, "but the sealed chest should remain intact. Alistair will guide you to the area you need to search."

"And these scrolls are?"

"Old treaties, if you're curious. Promises of support made to the Grey Wardens long ago. They were once considered only formalities. With so many having forgotten their commitments to us, I suspect it may be a good idea to have something to remind them with."

"Find the archive and the blood. Understood," Valerie finalized.

"Watch over your charges, Alistair. Return quickly and safely."

"We will," Alistair promised.

"Then may the Maker watch over your path. I will see you when you return."


End file.
